Lex of Rhule

Chapter 11: Lake Crystalline

Pain shot through Lex's calves with almost every step he took. His sides stung when he had to duck below the limbs of the pines around him. Every morning since the feast his father had dragged him a league into the forest around lake crystalline. Having heard about the scouts with the kings crest in Mirthwood he had decided to train him properly.
The previous day had almost killed him. They had gone through different weapons trying to find what would suit him best. All the time he had spent around swords in the forge but had never learned to use one. It felt heavy and he exhausted quickly .

He excelled with the bow but had used it for hunting often enough that he had quite a bit of practice. Today instead of swinging around a sword until his arms were numb
Zander led him through a series of complex stretches while teaching him to control his breathing..

The exercises left Lex shaking but not as tense and sore as he was upon waking. He stood from his crouched position and shook his arms out still tender where his shoulders met his chest. He laced his fingers behind his back and brought them above his head.
Zander held a staff in his hand. Nothing fancy just a really long stick with a leather grip in the center. He gave it a few spins and offered it to Lex. He took it and gave it a whirl while Zander armed himself with one similar to the one he had given Lex.

"Now that your warmed up you will do as I do I want you to mimic my every move."

Lex did as he was told. He stood straight with his hands on the grip. Zander adjusted his hands a little more than a foot apart. They began a slow sweeping dance that moved them in slow circles. Zander changed to another series of movements as soon as he knew Lex had caught onto the first. Then he introduced a third set that was more complicated.
He began to feel a rhythm as he counted out his steps. He liked the fluid movement the weapon allowed. Everything flowed together smoothly. His whole body worked as he and his father spun circles and bent the sticks around their selves.
Suddenly as Lex moves his staff low and to the right Zander stance changes. Instead of both his feet facing Lex along with his front hand ,he brings his front knee up and his weight to his back leg while quickly drawing his staff behind him and lunged.
It all happened so fast Lex didn't have time to react to the change. He lay in the dirt clutching his side wishing he would have deflected the blow.

"Up, try again, the motions we were going through will help you. The first series I showed to you will teach you to guard. Go through them again and when I attack I want you to stop it." Zander lectured.

He stood up wiping his hands on his pants hoping next time his staff wouldn't go flying. After retrieving it they start their dance again only this time Zander has picked up the pace. Lex was taught with anticipation waiting on his father to make a move.
He stood thinking of ways he could use the first set of moves to defend. As he spread his stance to the right and pointed the staff at the ground to the left he knew his father wouldn't be able to attack there. He assessed each guard and realized that the staff was the perfect weapon for blocking blows. It allowed him to block all sides of his body.
They continued to do this over and over with Lex going through the guards and Zander going through the first and second series. When Zander shifted his weight to his back leg with his front foot barely touching the ground and struck.
Lex had widened his grip on the staff and held the butt end up high while the tip pointed towards his fathers face to avoid a blow to the head as Zander switches from an overhead attack to a sweeping attack from the ground up as he brought his staff from the ground behind him it connected hard into Lex's chin.
He hit the ground hard. He couldn't believe he let that get passed him and the pain was excruciating. Blinking the haze out of his eyes from sweat and tears he stood again determined to stop his father.
They began their dance again with no words intently watching each others moves.
He had to stay alert. He admired the way the weapon worked and took pleasure in how flexible each movement allowed him to be. But now he also knew that even something as simple as a stick could prove deadly. His father was equally alert he hadn't noticed till now that his father had to find an opening to attack.
He waited and when Zander attacked it was in a four strike pattern Lex blocked the first two perfectly but surprised by the move took two blows to the ribs. Angry he attacked but his father parried the blow. Determined to land a hit he decided to put the second series of movements into action.
They were basic attacks but with the right timing they could penetrate his fathers guard. His father parries and aide stepped almost every blow.
The dance had continued in full. Lex continued to attack and before long it became apparent that he was no match for his father. Shifting his weight to his back leg he lifted his staff above his head with the tip pointed at the ground Behind him and brought his stick down with a roar.
With a flurry of motion Zander knocked his legs out from under him with one wide sweep of his staff.

"You can't fight if you can't keep hold of your temper!" Zander exclaimed.

"Easy for you to say! Your not the one laying in the dirt after being drug through the forest and beaten day after day!"Lex replied angrily.

"Well that's the only way your going to learn son, and if you hadn't let that temper get the best of you. You wouldn't be sitting in the dirt complaining. Since you can't see past that nose of yours ill have you know that we just found your weapon. I have never seen any other take to the staff as you have and I have trained many."

Lex took his fathers hand and allowed him to haul him up from the ground and dusted off his breeches.

"You know, I might not be so grumpy if you would allow me a day to rest and recover. My body feels as if Ryse chewed me up and spit me out." Lex replied jokingly.

His father laughed and slapped a hand on his back . Lex jerked so hard he almost fell to the ground. Zander pulled the boys shirt up to look at his back. Stretching from his shoulder making bits way down to his hip was a deep gash. The fat around the wound stopped most of the bleeding but he would need to take a trip into town to see Kairi and Clare.

"I do not recall delivering a blow to your back but if I had it wouldn't have cut you it would only have bruised." Zander said inspecting the wound.

Lex remembered landing on something hard when his father had delivered the uppercut but the flare of pain in his chin had been his main concern.

"I felt something earlier. It must have been a rock. A very sharp rock." Replied Lex.

His father nodded his head in agreement and handed him his makeshift staff.

" Go see Kairi and your sister. We will train again and you will need this. I am proud of you but I can't say I'm not disappointed. I had hoped you would take up my sword. A fine blade. A gift from your mother. I suppose I will have to make you a staff of your own soon." Said Zander.

Lex was thrilled. A weapon from his father was a treat for anyone and people would pay a fortune to have him make different blades for them.

"I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that yet. The sticks hurt enough," he laughed." And I'm not quite used to having a sister but I guess it won't hurt to call her that. Clare has my trust but all this is new to me. Maybe she will heal everything so tomorrow I can kick your butt!"

"Oh I'm sure she would love to see that, I trained her too and over the years she outshined even my abilities. You'd do well to stay on her good side." He joked. "After you have seen her ask Kairi to show you the fundamentals of meditation. You will need it to keep a clear head in battle. And you may also need it to defend your mind against attack from other magic wielders. If the king knows of the prophecy he will stop at nothing to have you and your brother killed or forced to his biding. And if he is after the eggs we must stop him."

Lex smile faded.
"What if I don't want to fight? What if I don't want to die? I am no hero how am I supposed to protect the realm if I can't protect myself or those around me?"

His fathered laid his hands on both or his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes.

"But you must fight! You will learn how to protect yourself and those around you. And in time your actions will decide the fate of Agramond. You will not fail. There is more to you than the eye can see. Power flows in your blood. Your mother is a high elf and purest of elven blood and you are her son. And I may not look like much to you but I was the general of the entire emerald army before I left with you. You were meant for greatness. Nothing can change what you are destined to be.
But we are going to help mold you. If that is what you want. You can sit idle and do nothing while the rest of us crumble around you or you can become the hero you and your brother are destined to be . Farren has trained his whole life amongst the elves I'm sure. So you have a lot of ground to cover. In a short amount of time. Remember that when you train and use it to train harder."

He gathered is things for the long trek back through the forest surrounding lake crystalline. He looked behind him before stepping into the woods he admired the view at the end of each day. With the sun glistening across the lake with hues of pink orange and yellow. He knew that as soon as he stepped into the forest the soft wind on his face would cease to exist.